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ADDRESS 



DELIVERED AT THE 



ANNUAL MEETING 



1 1 STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 



ALBANY, FEBRUARY 13, 1867. 



By JOHN STANTON GOULD, Pees't. 



a 







' U. S. A. 



PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 



ALBANY : 

PRINTED BY VAN BENTIIUYSEN & SONS. 
1867. 



S5-Z3 



ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen of the State Agricultural Society: 

The period has now arrived when I am to lay 
down the cases and responsibilities of the presi- 
dency, and to render to you an account of my 
stewartship. 

I do not know whether it is in compliance 
with law or with custom, that the President of 
the Society is expected to deliver an address on 
leaving the chair. But I can see chat there is 
an inherent propriety, and I may even say there 
is a necessity that he should do so. No man can 
spend a year in the service of the Society, watch- 
ing over all its manifold relations to the great 
interests of agriculture, without learning many 
things, which ought to be the common property 
of his successors. He finds many of the plans 
for the improvement of agriculture, which have 
been adopted by his predecessors, are well adapt- 



ed in their practical working to accomplish the 
objects which their proposers had in view. Other 
plans fail to accomplish the intentions of their 
authors, and others, instead of promoting, actually 
prevent the advance of agricultural improve- 
ment. These observations should certainly be 
communicated to his successors in office, and 
there seems no time or place so well fitted for 
the transmission of this information as when he 
resigns the chair to his successor. 

OBJECT OF THE ADDRESS. 

It will then be my purpose, this evening, to 
point out briefly those parts of the machinery of 
the society which my experience has led me to 
believe are beneficent in their action, and those 
which can be usefully altered or improved. 

NECESSITY FOR THE SOCIETY. 

My convictions of the absolute necessity of such 
an organization as the New York State Agricul- 
tural Society, for the interest of the farmers of 
the State, have always been very strong; but 
strong as they were, they have been very greatly 
intensified by the practical inlook which I have 
been compelled to take of its relations to agri- 
culture during the past year. 



VALUATION OF FARMS, STOCK AND TOOLS. 

I estimate, at the lowest valuation that I can 
possibly make, the value of the farms, live stock 
and agricultural implements in the State, at 
seven hundred and twenty-five millions of dol- 
lars ; and if any one should estimate them at one 
thousand millions of dollars, he would probably 
be nearer to the mark than I am. 

ANNAUL VALUE OF FARM PRODUCTS. 

The annual value of the products of these 
farms cannot, as I think, fall short of one hun- 
dred and sixty-five millions of dollars. 

PROFITS OF AGRICULTURE. 

From the best information I can obtain from 
different counties in the State, I believe that we 
cannot assume a higher per centage of profit on 
the agricultural investment of the State than 
three per cent; very many of our most acute 
and observing farmers believe that the average 
profit of agriculture is only two per cent. 

At the very highest estimate then, the annual 
profits of the farmers of New York fall short of 
twenty-two millions of dollars. The annual cost 
of the production of crops in New York is about 
$144,000,000. Without very greatly increasing 



6 

this amount which represents taxes, insurance, 
wages, mechanics' and merchants' bills, the pro- 
fits of the farmers ought to be at least doubled. 

AVERAGE PRODUCTION, 1865. 

The average production of wheat to the acre 
in the State of New York is 7.07 bushels of 
spring wheat, and 13.36 bushels of winter wheat ; 
of rye, 10.17 bushels; of oats, 17.16 bushels; of 
barley, 16.27 bushels; of corn, 28.44 bushels; 
of potatoes, 98.86 bushels; of hay, 0.91 tons. 
That this rate of production is far below the 
actual capacity of the soil — that the cause of the 
failure is in the farmer himself — is made clear by 
the actual results obtained by our best cultivators. 

GEO. GEDDES' AVERAGE PRODUCTION. 

Hon. Geo. Geddes, well known to this society 
as one of its ex-presidents, has kindly furnished 
me with the average crops for three years raised 
by his son, James Geddes, and six of his nearest 
neighbors. The crop of winter wheat was about 
26 bushels ; of oats, 50 bushels; of barley, 38.12 
bushels ; of corn, 45 bushels ; of hay, 2 tons to 
the acre. 

AVERAGE PRODUCTION, 1855. 

Ten years ago the average yield of crops to 
the acre, in this State, was — of spring wheat. 



10.46 bushels; of winter wheat, 11.74 bushels; 
of rye, 17.89 bushels; of oats, 20.01 bushels; of 
barley, 16.76 bushels; of corn, 21.02 bushels; of 
potatoes, 68.87 bushels; of hay, 0.96 tons. 

These statements are well worthy of the most 
serious consideration of the society. They show 
that the average crops of the State are below 
those obtained by Mr. Geddes and his neighbors, 
by more than one-half. 

INCREASE OF VALUE OF CROPS. 

If the average production of the State had 
been raised to the standard attained by Mr. 
Geddes and his neighbors, 5,139,720 bushels of 
wheat would have been added to the supply of 
food, which, at $1.50 a bushel, would amount 
in money value, to $7,709,580. The increase 
in the crop of oats would be 18,221,334 bushels, 
the value of which, at 50 cents a bushel, is $9,- 
110,007. It would add 4,131,625 bushels of bar- 
ley which, at $1.00 a bushel, would increase the 
annual income of its producers by the same num- 
ber of dollars. The amount of corn would be 
increased 10,467,822 bushels, which, at 75 cents 
a bushel, amounts to $7,850,866. The crop of 
hay would be increased 4,696,526 tons, which, at 
$10.00 a ton, would be worth $46,965,260. 



In examining these statements, gentlemen, 
you will perceive that if the average production 
of the State should be raised to the measure of 
increase attained to by Mr. Geddes and his neigh- 
bors, it would increase the annual value of our 
crops by the enormous sum of $75,767,998! ! 

It must not be forgotten that this great addi- 
tion to our revenues would accrue without any 
increase of the sum which we already pay for 
interest on the cost of the land ; for fences, for 
taxes, for insurances, for merchants' bills, and 
for tools and implements. 

The extra cost of this increased revenue would 
be chiefly composed of manure and labor ; these 
items, in English calculations, are generally as- 
sumed at one-third of the gross expenses of the 
farm; with us they would probably amount to 
one-half of the. gross expenses, but to keep very 
far within bounds, let us assume that the cost of 
this augmentation of our crops is $45,767,998; 
we then have left to us $30,000,000 as clear gain ; 
we have not only doubled our profits, which we 
may spend for our own pleasure, but we still 
have $8,000,000 left, which is sufficient to pay 
the whole of our State tax. 



AVERAGE CROPS DIMINISHING. 

By comparing our average production ten 
years ago with our jDresent average, we find that 
with the exceptions of the items of wheat, corn 
and potatoes, we are actually raising less than 
we' did in 1855. Our averages are diminishing 
rather than increasing. 

Mr. Geddes and his neighbors expressly assert 
that they are now, and have been for many years, 
increasing their annual production and their aver- 
age net profits; and this is also true of a great many 
other farmers in different sections of the State. 

The facts which I have stated show that the 
farmers of this State may be divided into two 
classes, viz. : those who study the laws of nature 
applicable to agriculture, and obey them; and 
those who, being ignorant of the laws, are unable 
to obey them. 

THE MISSION OF THE SOCIETY. 

It is the mission of the society to be the medi- 
ator between these two classes; it must learn 
from the educated in order to teach the unedu- 
cated farmer the true methods of successful and 
remunerative husbandry. It must convince the 
ignorant farmer that, in agriculture as well as in 



10 

religion, "wisdom is profitable to direct." It 
must draw this wisdom from the deep wells 
where it lies hidden, and scatter it broadcast 
until it lies within the reach of every husband- 
man. It must apply stimulants to the careless, 
restraints to the rash, and act in every way as 
the vicegerent of a beneficent Providence to the 
cultivators of the State. 

FAIRS AND TRANSACTIONS. 

The society has sought to fulfill its mission, 
from its first establishment down to the present 
day, through two distinct agencies. It has an- 
nually, by its fairs, brought before the farmers 
the choicest specimens of its flocks and herds, 
its best grains, roots and grasses, and its most 
advanced mechanical contrivances for giving aid 
to the operations of husbandry; and by the publi- 
cation of its transactions it has sought to explain, 
clearly and intelligibly, the processes by which 
the successful results exhibited at its fairs were 
obtained. 

In addition to these two methods which it has 
constantly and regularly pursued, it has, at difi*er- 
ent times and as occasion offered, adopted other 
methods of promoting the interests of the farmer. 



11 

SURVEYS OF COUNTIES. 

It has procured accurate agricultural surveys 
of the county of Seneca, by Mr. Delafield, of 
Onondaga, by Mr. Geddes, of Essex, by Mr. Wat- 
son, of Steuben, by Mr. Denniston, of Washing- 
ton, by Dr. Fitch, of Madison, by Mr. Evans, of 
Orange, and by Mr. Dennison. It is fearlessly 
asserted that so large a body of exact agricultural 
information, respecting the counties referred to, 
was never brought together at so small a cost. 

TRIAL OF PLOWS. 

The society, in 1850, were desirous of ascer- 
taining, by competent tests, which of the numer- 
ous plows, competing for public favor, was best 
adapted to the wants of the farmer. A careful 
and elaborate examination was made, under their 
direction, of all the plows presented, by a board 
of competent judges at Albany. 

TRIAL OF MOWERS AND REAPERS. 

In 1852, when the manufacture of mowers and 
reapers was in its infancy, the Society instituted 
a very thorough trial of all the machines then in 
use at Geneva. And again, in 1866, it instituted 
another trial of mowers and reapers at Auburn. 



12 

RESULTS OF PLOAV TRIALS APPROVED. 

The plows which received the approval of the 
Society, at the Albany trial, continued for many 
years to be the favorites of the farmers ; and one 
of them, known as the Michigan plow, which was 
first brought into public notice at the trial, has 
continued to increase in public favor to the pres- 
ent day. I am happy to inform you that very 
thorough preparations have been made for an- 
other trial of plows in May of the present year. 

The decisions, at the trial at Geneva, were also 
very fully ratified by the agricultural public. It 
is yet too early to ascertain whether the conclu- 
sions arrived at, during the Auburn trials, will 
equally commend themselves to the confidence 
of the farmers, but there cannot be a doubt that 
the very careful and elaborate experiments made 
there will throw a great deal of light upon the 
theory and practice of mowing and reaping by 
machinery. 

T. C. peters' REPORT ON THE AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES 
OF THE STATE. 

In the year 1864 the society procured, from 
my immediate predecessor, ex-President T. C. 
Peters, a very valuable report upon the agricul- 
tural resources of the State. For the first time, 



13 

the area of the State was divided into groups 
allied to each other bj their adaptation to the 
production of similar crops, by climate and by 
geological structure ; it abounds in facts not 
easily accessible elsewhere which are of the 
utmost importance to the student of the agricul- 
tural resources of the State. 

SORGHUM COMMISSION. 

In the year 1863, when the excitement respect- 
ing Sorghum sugar and syrup, and beet sugar, 
was exceedingly active in the western States, 
the society appointed a commissioner to visit 
those States for the purpose of acquiring all the 
information which could be obtained there, in 
order to ascertain whether it would be desirable 
to introduce the culture into this State. A report 
upon the subject was accordingly made, contain- 
ing full and ample details, which was widely cir- 
culated through the State. 

SALT EXPERIMENTS. 

Various experiments have also been made 
under its auspices, to test the comparative value 
of our own and foreign salts, which resulted in 
destroying the prejudice which, for a long time, 
existed in the minds of our farmers against the 



14 

use of Onondaga salt for curing meats, and for 
the preservation of butter. 

EPIZOOTICS PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 

The Society has carefully watched over all the 
epizootics which have made their appearance du- 
ring its corporate existence. The pleuropneumonia 
was promptly investigated on its first appear- 
ance, and the most approved modes of guarding 
against its ravages, were widely disseminated 
through the State ; in consequence of these pre- 
cautions, the losses were confined within very 
narrow limits. 

RINDERPEST. 

During the past year the Society has devoted 
much of its attention to the study of the best 
method of protecting our cattle owners from the 
rinderpest which has destroyed so many cattle 
in the various countries of Europe. It perfected 
a law, having this object in view, which was 
passed by the legislature. Under its provisions 
a commission was appointed, composed of some 
of our most experienced members, in whose judg- 
ment we place the fullest confidence ; and we 
have reason to believe that the measures they 
have adopted are such, that if the disease should 



15 

unfortunately break out here, it will be confined 
to very narrow limits. 

ABORTION OF COWS. 

We have also devoted much time and labor, 
during the past year, to perfecting a plan for the 
thorough investigation of the causes of, and reme- 
dies for the abortion among cows now so fearfully 
prevalent in our dairy districts. We have sought 
the counsel of some of the most eminent physi- 
ologists in the country, and have succeeded in 
perfecting a plan for the thorough investigation 
of all the abstruse and occult questions which 
have hitherto proved insoluble by unprofessional 
observers. The accomplishment of this plan in- 
volves the expenditure of more money than the 
society can command, and we have, therefore, 
appealed to the Legislature to supply the defi- 
ciency from the State Treasury. If that body 
responds favorably to our requests, the investiga- 
tion will be entered upon immediately. 

FLAX COTTON. 

In the year 1861 a permanent committee was 
appointed, whose duty it was to foster the growth 
of flax, to supplement the growing deficiency of 
cotton, and also to encourage the invention of 



16 

methods by which the fibre could be spun on 
ordinary cotton machinery. This committee has 
continued its labors from that time until the 
present. Although no process has yet been dis- 
covered by which flax has been thoroughly cot- 
tonized without great injury to the fibre, yet 
cotton machinery, by a very slight alteration, 
has been made to spin the fibre prepared by 
purely mechanical processes, with very great 
success. We have no doubt that this process 
will very greatly increase the cultivation of the 
flax crop in the State, and render it more remu- 
nerative. 

The entomology of the State has been very 
successfully studied, under its auspices, by Dr. 
Fitch, whose annual reports have been of great 
value, and are highly prized by the farmers of 
other States, and by the scientific and practical 
men of Europe. When Dr. Fitch shall have 
arranged the specimens, in his possession, in our 
museum, where all the farmers of the State can 
obtain access to them, the economical value of 
his labors will be greatly increased. 

From this rapid sketch of the methods by 
which the society has hitherto sought to benefit 
agriculture, I now pass on to mention some of 



17 

the new enterprises upon which I deem it 
proper that the society should embark. 

LAW BUREAU. 

It seems to me desirable that a commission 
should be appointed, charged with the duty of 
examining and revising all the laws of this State 
affecting the interests of agriculture. 

Doubtless, many of the laws at present in force 
bear hardly on the interests of the husbandman, 
and might be greatly improved, with the hearty 
assent of the legislature and the people. 

Among these may be mentioned the laws rela- 
ting to road and division fences, — to estrays, to 
trespass, to the tenure of land and the right of 
re-entry; to the protection of sheep from the 
ravages of dogs. The reciprocal rights and duties 
of employers and farm laborers; the relations of 
incoming and outgoing tenants ; the rights of com- 
mons and of piscary ; the laying out and repairing 
of public and private roads ; the planting of trees, 
and the provision of watering places along the 
highway. For securing more accurate surveys 
of farm lands, and to facilitate the straightening 
of lines between co-terminous proprietors. 

No one can doubt that our laws, in relation to 

all these matters, are, in many respects, very 
3 



18 

defective, or that a body of intelligent men 
thoroughly conversant with the wants of agricul- 
ture, considering them individually, and in their 
relations with each other, could devise many im- 
portant ameliorations of their provisions which 
would enure greatly to the profit of the farmer. 

EXAMPLE ROAD LAWS, 

The limits of this address will not permit me 
to point out, in detail, all the mistakes, anomalies 
and injurious workings of our existing laws, but 
I may, perhaps, be pardoned if I cite our present 
road laws as an example of the deficiency, and 
even of the absurdity of our present system. 

Whoever has had to travel over the common 
roads of our State, will have had too much occa- 
sion to see that they have been laid out without 
any plan or system whatever. . The traveler is 
perpetually compelled to claniber over high hills 
which might be avoided by going round them; 
to go by a tortuous path, when a straight one was 
easily attainable ; to wade through a soft and 
muddy road bed, when hard ground was within a 
stone's throw, and to grind through deep ruts, 
when they might have been avoided altogether. 

He is thus compelled to make his transit, from 
one point to another, through a much longer 



19 

route, with a greater expenditure of animal 
power, a greater loss of time, and with more 
wear and tear of wagon and harness, than would 
be required, if the roads were located and re- 
paired, as they easily might be, without increas- 
ing the tax now annually expended upon them. 

TONNAGE TRANSPORTED ON COMMON ROADS. 

I estimate the annual transportation, over the 
common roads of this State, of agricultural pro- 
ducts by farmers, as follows : 

Hay and cereal grains, 5,211,728 Tons. 

Koot crops, 169,708 

Milk and its products, 296,864 

Meat, 147,601 

Apples and cider, 852,955 

Wool, 5,000 

Hops, 4,000 

Flax, 2,500 

Making an aggregate of 6,690,356 

transported over an average distance of five 
miles. 

OTHER COMMODITIES TO BE TRANSPORTED. 

I have omitted many articles which a farmer 
is compelled to transport, because I have no 
accessible data upon which to found a calcula- 
tion. Large quantities of straw are transported 
to the paper mills, and to our large cities, for 
bedding and litter. The amount of plaster, lime 
and other manures used by farmers, is very great. 



20 

The amount of lumber brought to tide-water by 
our canals, and which must have passed over our 
common roads to them and from them, amounts 
to one and a half millions of tons annually. The 
products of our orchards, besides apples, and of 
our vineyards, is very considerable. The fruits 
of our market gardens and field products, other 
than those above enumerated, such as onions, 
tobacco, broom corn, millett, peas, beans, &c., 
sum up in the aggregate to very large propor- 
tions. The small fruits, such as cherries, cur- 
rants, raspberries, strawberries, require an amount 
of tonnage for their transportation to market 
which would astonish those who have never 
directed their attention to its magnitude. 

In considering all these additions to the amount 
of tonnage above estimated, I think I shall not 
incur the charge of exaggeration when I assume 
that ten millions of tons are annually hauled by 
the farmers of this State over our common roads. 

GAIN FROM IMPROVED LEGISLATION. 

If the expenses of drawing this tonnage are 
diminished, by the improvement in our laws, 
twenty cents a ton, it will add two millions of 
dollars annually to the profits of agriculture. 



21 

There is not only no general system of road 
making in the State, but there is none in the 
country, nor even in the town; the roads are 
divided into short districts, each district being 
directed by a path master, who regulates all 
things according to the counsel of his own w411, 
and without the slightest attention to the rela- 
tions of his district with any other. After the 
corn is hoed he summons the persons assessed in 
his district to work on the highway; they gener- 
ally plow the ditch by the road side, and scrape 
up the soft mud and the weeds which have col- 
lected there, into the middle of the road, and 
this is facetiously called repairing it. For this 
miserable and useless work, the farmers of the 
State pay an enormous sum annually, either in 
cash or labor. 

Now, if in each county a practical surveyor or 
engineer was appointed, who should lay out the 
lines of communication between different points 
by the shortest lines and the most feasable routes; 
who should apply the labor of the county with 
a systematic aim to level the hills and fill up the 
valleys, and improve the road bed; every year 
would show an obvious and welcome improve- 
ment; the most hills would be lowered, the most 



22 

crooked places would be straighter, the most slushy 
places would be harder ; and before many years 
had passed away, the present expense of teaming 
would be reduced one-half of its present amount. 

Of course the county engineer would select his 
own district assistants who would direct the tax- 
able labor of the county, under his direction, and 
be responsible to him. Thus, ignorance would be 
replaced by knowledge, disorder by a well regu- 
lated system, and wastefulness by economy, 
which would soon cause the crooked places to 
become straight, and the rough places to become 
smooth. It would probably be necessary to pro- 
vide by law, that all neck yokes of heavy wagons 
should be lengthened so as to make the horses 
walk in a direct line with the wheels, so as to 
prevent the formation of ruts. 

It would be easy to select the members of this 
society, who are most familiar with the laws 
relative to agriculture, and who, from their pre- 
vious studies and acceptations, would be most 
likely to suggest improvements on them. These 
might be formed into a bureau, under the presi- 
dency of one of the vice-presidents; and to the 
oversight of this board all matters relating to 



23 

the laws affecting agriculture might safely and 
usefully be committed, 

NECESSITY FOR MORE RELIABLE EXPERIMENTS. 

We have had theories of agriculture without 
end, profounded for our consideration ; innumera- 
ble guesses have been hazarded upon every con- 
ceivable topic ; inconclusive experiments, which 
no man can number, have been made, and yet, 
to our shame be it spoken, there is scarcely a 
single question which has been mooted in Ameri- 
can agriculture, that can be said to be settled on 
the sure basis of reliable experiments. 

Many of our indigenous grasses have never 
been analyzed. There is a hopeless discrepancy 
between the analysis which have been made in 
Europe and America. Thus, by the analysis of 
Mr. Way, in England, the ash of timothy gives 
11 per cent, of the phosphates and 24 per cent, of 
potash. According to the analysis of the same 
grass, made by Mr. Salesbury, under the direction 
of Prof. Emmons, at Albany, it contains 16 per ct. 
of the phosphates and 30 per cent, of potash. 

comparative values of foods ACTUAL TRIALS AT 

THE MANGER. 

The theoretical value assigned by Boussingault 
to rye straw, in comparison with English hay, 



24 

was 479 lbs. That is, 479 lbs. was equivalent to 
100 lbs. of English hay. Fresenius, as the result 
of his analysis, gave 527 lbs. of straw as equiva- 
lent to 100 lbs. of hay. Boussingault makes 
319 lbs. of potatoes, 70 lbs. of India corn, and 
60 lbs. of oats, each equivalent, in nutritive 
principles, to 100 lbs. of hay. Fresenius makes 
330 lbs. of potatoes and 58 lbs. of oats equiva- 
lent to 100 lbs. of hay. If we compare the 
equivalent values of different species of food, 
deduced from actual feeding of animals, we find 
the confusion even worse confounded. Block 
makes 216 lbs. of potatoes equivalent to 100 lbs. 
of hay; Petri, 200 lbs. ; Meyer, 150 lbs. Block 
found 39 lbs. of oats equivalent to 100 lbs. 
Petri, 71 lbs.; Thaer, 86 lbs.; Pabet, 60 lbs.; 
Scheveitzer, 37^ lbs. I have searched industri- 
ously for chemical or experimental researches in 
this country, with which to compare the discord- 
ant results of Europe, but I am compelled to 
confess that if such exist, I have been unable 
to find them. 

Chemical analysis indicate that timothy has 
twice as much muscle making nutriment, and 
twice and a half as much fat making nutriment, 
as sweet scented vernal grass. It has 25 per 



25 

cent, more muscle making power than Kentucky 
blue grass, or than Fescue grass; but I cannot 
find that this has ever been verified experiment- 
ally either in Europe or America. 

CORN. 

We learn from the analysis of Mr. Salisbury, 
that 100 lbs. of the Ohio Deut corn contains 
8.58 lbs. of flesh forming principles, and 60.34 
lbs. of fat and heat forming principles. While 
100 lbs. of the small eight-rowed corn contains 
13.80 lbs. of flesh forming, and 44 lbs. of fat and 
heat forming principles. Now, if such differ- 
ences really exist in these varieties, farmers 
may make a great deal of money by knowing it. 
But they do not know it, or even suspect it ; 
with them a bushel of one corn is worth a bushel 
of any other corn, just as much as one gold eagle 
is worth another; and yet we see if Mr. Salis- 
bury's analysis is reliable, 100 lbs. of the eight- 
rowed corn will lay 25 per cent, more muscle 
upon a hog or a bullock than the Ohio Deut. 

There is not a single experiment upon record 
which has, for its object, the verification of this 
chemical indication by actual feeding. If the 
fact were once reliably proved, the knowledge 



26 

would be worth half a million dollars annually 
to the farmers of the State. 

MANURES. 

If a load of horse manure, a load of cow man- 
ure, and a load of hog manure, should be offered 
to a farmer, each at a specified price, he could 
not tell which would be the cheapest. There is 
not a farmer in the State that knows exactly 
what profit he can make upon a load of any kind 

of manure. 

DR. voeleker's experiments. 

Dr. Voeleker weighed a known quantity of 
manure, making a careful analysis of its compo- 
sition; it was then spread out in the barn yard 
just as our farmers are accustomed to spread out 
their manure exposed to the weather. At the 
end of a year he weighed and analyzed it 
again. There was an absolute loss of weight, 
amounting to 42 per cent., and this loss consisted 
of the most valuable constituents of the manure. 
When first spread out, it contained 41 lbs. of 
soluble organic n^atter ; at the conclusion of the 
experiment only 4 lbs. of soluble matter remained. 
This 41 lbs. contained, in the beginning, 3^ lbs. 
of nitrogen which is the most precious portion of 
he manure, at the close of it only one-third of a 



27 

pound remained, showing an absolute loss of nine- 
tenths of the ammonia. This experiment has 
been for ten years before the farmers of Europe 
and America ; not one of them, so far as I know, 
has ever thought of weighing the crops raised 
from equal areas of land, one of whicli was man- 
ured with recent and one with manure which 
had been long exposed to the weather ; had they 
done so they would have learned conclusively 
whether they have been wasting their manure 
as much as Dr. Voeleker says they have. If his 
statements are true, more than one-half of the 
fertilizing matters in this State are absolutely 
lost ; a reformation, in this respect, would more 
than double our available manure, without per- 
ceptibly increasing the labor of teaming. 

I have by no means exhausted my list of ex- 
amples of losses sustained b}'^ farmers, in conse- 
quence of their ignorance, but I have, perhaps, 
said enough to convince them that they are, at 
present, grossly ignorant of the facts which lie 
at the very foundation of profitable and success- 
ful farming, and that this ignorance is not hope- 
less and necessary, but easily remediable if the 
proper methods are resorted to. 



28 

It seems to me that the society should, at once, 
deliberately, resolutely and persistently set itself 
to the task of replacing this ignorance by sub- 
stantial, positive knowledge. We have many 
members who are interested in these investiga- 
tions, and who are abundantly qualified to con- 
duct them. Let such be organized into a Bureau 
of Experiment, under the presidency of one of 
the vice-presidents. They should then select a 
few of the most important questions for investi- 
gation, devise all necessary precautions to insure 
accuracy in the making and reporting the experi- 
ments, and secure their careful trial by members 
of the bureau and others who may be willing to 
participate in it ; if possible, the trials should 
be made simultaneously in every county in the 
State. In this way, perfectly reliable knowledge 
might be acquired of all disputed questions in 
agriculture, in the course of a few years, and agri- 
culture would be elevated to the rank of a science. 

BREEDING. 

It is because that there is no treatise upon the 
breeding of animals founded on experimental data, 
to be found in the English language, except that 
of Mr. GooDALE, of Maine. This work is a valu- 
able addition to our literature, but the author, in 



/ 



/ 



29 

every chapter, complains of the want of reliable 
facts upon which to base his conclusions. Such 
knowledge is in existence, but as no reliable 
record has been made of it to the public, and 
those who desire to improve their animals have 
no trustworthy guides to aid them. 

PROF. AGASSIZ. 

Prof. Agassiz has recently informed me that 
he has experimented, for several years, with 
dogs, Guinea pigs and rabbits, and finds that the 
first male that copalates with a virgin female 
makes all her subsequent offspring with his own 
characteristics ; he is anxious to know whether 
the same is true in the case of horses, cows, 
sheep and hogs. He does not know whether this 
law holds good in the case of the first ineffective 
copalation, and would be glad to be supplied with 
any facts, by competent observers, which will 
throw light upon this branch of the subject. He 
has also ascertained that a breed of animals is 
deteriorated by allowing the male, however per- 
fect he may be, to serve too many females. 

BUREAU OF REPRODUCTION. 

A bureau should be organized in the same way 
as has been recommended, in previously men- 



30 

tioned cases, which should be charged with the 
duty of causing experiments to be made and 
published, which will throw light upon all the 
phenomena of reproduction. 

Bureaus for veterinary medicine, entomology, 
sheep and wool, orchard and garden products, 
the testing and distribution of seeds, and for the 
investigation of any other subjects which may, 
from time to time, demand the special attention 
of the society. 

BUREAU FOR CODIFICATION. 

Another bureau should be formed, consisting 
of the President and the ex-presidents, whose 
duty it would be to digest and methodically ar- 
range the reports of th'^ special bureaus into a 
coherent body of agricultural science. 

Hitherto the labors of the society have been 
performed by the officers ; for all practical pur- 
poses the executive committee has been the 
society. The plan of organization that I propose 
changes all this ; if it should be adopted, all the 
members will become workers; every man in it 
will be working under a well considered plan for 
the accomplishment of a specific and definite 
object. Should they do so, and bring to their 
task the same sagacity and zeal that they have 



31 

carried into other fields of enterprise, I do not 
doubt that they wouiJ accomplish results that 
would redound to their own honor, and prove a 
blessing to the world. 

This plan would involve the expenditure of a 
much larger sum of money than the society has 
been accustomed to raise. The expenses of the 
officers who have attended all the meetings 
during the year, have not averaged less thari one 
hundred dollars a year. I would not wish that 
this should be altered, but it seems to me right 
that when committees of the society travel in its 
service, their expenses should be paid. The pre- 
siding officers of the proposed bureau will neces- 
sarily have a large correspondence on behalf of 
the society, and the society ought to furnish the 
postage for it. 

Many analysis would be needed, and some of the 
experiments that are needed would require the 
expenditure of money. It has never been the 
policy of the society to solicit much pecuniary 
aid from the State for its ordinary operations. 
I would not recommend that this policy should 
be changed; but it seems to me that all the 
needed funds could be raised without burthening 
any one unduly. 



32 

The number of members, by the payment of 
one dollar annually, does not much exceed one 
hundred, and many of these only become so for 
the purpose of exhibitmg some article at the fair. 

FINANCIAL IMPROVEMENT. 

This statement shows that the farmers of the 
State as a body, while they richly share in all 
the benefits arising from the labors of the society, 
contribute nothing either of their labor or their 
money for its support. I do not mean to blame 
them for this; the necessity for it has never 
occurred to them ; it has never clearly presented 
itself to their minds as a duty to be performed. 
There are between three and four hundred thou- 
sand owners of land in the State ; if one in twenty 
of these should join the society and pay their 
annual dues, the revenue would be ample to sup- 
ply its utmost needs. There are thirteen mil- 
lions of acres under cultivation in the State ; if 
we had had one member for each 400 acres, the 
revenue would be sufficient. There are over nine 
hundred towns in the State ; if fifteen farmers in 
each town would become members, it would 
enable the society to accomplish all that it 
desires to do. Looking at the matter in any 
light, there seems no substantial difficulty in the 



33 

way of raising all the necessary funds for ordi- 
nary purposes without appealing to the legisla- 
ture for assistance. 

FAIRS. 

My experience in the management of our 
annual fairs convinces me that the time has 
fully arrived when some important improvements 
should be introduced into their management. 

THOROUGH-BREDS. 

They owe much of their attractiveness to the 
exhibition of thorough bred animals; thousands 
of farmers leave their homes and business solely 
for the purpose of seeing them. If from any 
cause the owners of the animals should refuse to 
show them, the farmers of the State would lose 
one of the very best means of education, and 
the treasury of the society would be seriously 
depleted. 

These owners of choice and valuable animals, it 
is well known, expend a great deal of money as 
well as labor and skill in bringing them to the 
high state of perfection in which they now are. 
If, through the ignorance, the carelessness, or the 
prejudices of judges, an inferior animal is assigned 
a prize over a superior one, we cannot wonder 



that the owner of the latter should be deeply 
chagrined and mortified. 

While great care is taken to procure competent 
committees, and while it is believed that the 
aw^ards have been, in the main, wisely and justly 
made in all branches and departments of the 
show, it is to be regretted that they have not 
always been accompanied with the reasons upon 
which they were founded, that the unsuccessful 
competitors might feel satisfied that every means 
had been adopted to secure correct decisions. 

The society has deliberately established a scale 
of points, which are printed on the judges' books, 
and they are directed to record their judgment 
upon each point of the scale ; this has rarely 
been done. It has been alleged as an excuse for 
this, that the scale is faulty. I am unable to 
concur myself in this opinion ; but if, on consid- 
eration, this view should be held, it will be 
eminently proper to amend it. 

It has been alleged that it is too much trouble 
to impose upon the judges. I am sure that men 
can be found who will take this trouble, especially 
if their expenses are paid by the society ; and in 
order to insure the result, I recommend that 



35 

hereafter the judges on thorough-bred stock shall 
have their expenses borne by the society. 

GRADES. 

There was nothing more truly instructive 
exhibited at the Saratoga fair, than Mr. Cham- 
berlain's grade Merinos. The farmers saw before 
their own eyes a Silesian Merino buck of unri- 
valed beauty; the wool was fine, and well distri- 
buted over the carcass; the proportions exqui- 
sitely symmetrical, and having all the points well 
known to shepherds, approximating very closely 
to perfection. On the other hand, there was a 
common ewe such as could be purchased for four 
dollars ; there was also a grade ewe, the offspring 
of these two animals, with a noble carcass and 
with very fine wool ; the market value of the 
ewe being at least three times as great as that 
of her mother. There was also a descendant of 
this grade ewe by the same ram, with a carcass 
less in weight than its mother, but having greater 
symmetry of form and greater fineness of wool. 
Hundreds of farmers were at Saratoga who had 
been earnestly asking the question, how much 
they could afford to pay for a good ram ? The 
question was answered before their own eyes, 



36 

and in language which could not deceive them. 
They saw the very thing itself, and they could 
answer their own question as well as Mr. Cham- 
berlain, or any other breeder in the world. 

There were some grade cattle and hogs upon 
the ground which were very instructive, but less 
so than they would have been if their parents 
had been shown in connection with them. 

I would earnestly recommend to the society 
to make the most earnest and systematic efforts 
to bring out grades of all kinds at our ensuing 
fairs in connection with their parents. We 
should thus afford to the farmers of the State an 
opportunity of seeing the effect of breeding our 
common native ewes, cows and sows with the best 
thorough-bred Durhams, Devons, Ayrshires and 
Alderneys, with the best Southdowns, Leceister- 
shires, Merinos, &c., and with the best Cheshires, 
Essex, Yorkshires and Berkshires. If it could 
be announced in the show bills that such an 
exhibition would be given at our next fair, I 
have no doubt that the receipts would be fully 
doubled in consequence. 

FAT CATTLE AND SHEEP. 

I have observed, with great regret, that the 
number of fat cattle and sheep are annually 



37 

diminishing at our fairs. I recommend that the 
attention of the society be given to find a remedy 
for this difficulty. 

We are deficient in the art of fattening cattle. 
We fall below our brethren in England in this 
respect, as is plainly shown by a comparison of 
the shows at Smithfield, and by the Royal Agri- 
cultural Society with our own. Our inferiority 
is also manifest by a comparison of the meats 
exposed for sale in the markets of Great Britain 
with our own. It will never do for the farmers 
of New York to be inferior in anything; they 
should be contented with no position short of 
the highest. We should, therefore, encourage 
the exhibition of well fatted cattle by liberal 
premiums ; and the details, including the cost of 
the fattening, should be printed on large cards, 
on legible type, so that the spectators may receive 
the full benefit of the exhibition. 

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 

The display of agricultural implements at 
Saratoga was never equaled before. I do not 
believe that the world could have surpassed it in 
really useful machines. The mechanics of our 
State may well be proud of their unrivaled exhi- 
bition ; and the farmers are unfeignedly grateful 



38 

for the contributions by which their genius and 
skill have alleviated their labors and smoothed 
their pathway to success. 

I think these mechanical displays should be 
cherished b}'" every means in our power ; but I 
am reluctantly compelled to express the opinion 
that it will, hereafter, be unwise to grant pre- 
miums in medals, money or diplomas, to any 
machines which have not been thoroughly tried 
in the presence of the judges. Such articles as 
cannot be tried may be noticed by the judges, 
described and commended if they deem it neces- 
sary, but every prize awarded should be earned 
by thorough and satisfactory trials. 

Much injury has been done heretofore to the 
interests of meritorious inventors and makers of 
agricultural machinery, by the careless way in 
which the prizes and diplomas of the society 
have been awarded by judges, without making 
adequate tests of their value. 

The diplomas of the society should always be 
conclusive evidence of merit, and I see no way 
of avoiding abuses without the adoption of the 
rule I have recommended. 

Mr. Henry Waterman, at the request of the 
Vice-President in charge of the department, and 



39 

with my entire approval, acted as a professional 
adviser to all the judges in the mechanical depart- 
ment ; his services were found to be so valuable 
that the executive committee appointed him per- 
manently the consulting engineer of the society. 
He will attend all the fairs and give counsel and 
advice to all the judges charged with the exami- 
nation of any matters involving mechanical con- 
trivances. It is worthy of consideration, whether 
it would not be advisable to make him an actual 
member of all these boards of judges. 

The Vice-Presidents each took charge of one 
of the classes this year; the system was found 
to work admirably, and gave entire satisfaction 
in all respects. I would recommend that in 
future the Vice-Presidents be assigned to the 
several classes, at the first meeting after the 
elections, so as to give them time to form their 
plans of management before the fair. I would 
also recommend that the names of all persons 
nominated as judges, be referred to the Vice- 
President in charge of the class for consideration, 
before they are finally appointed. 

I cannot close this address without expressing 
my most grateful and heartfelt thanks to my 
excellent colleagues, for the generous support 



40 

which they have given me throughout my whole 
term of office; wise in counsel and prompt in 
action, they have lightened my responsibilities 
and alleviated my cares. 

Every retiring President has had occasion to 
acknowledge the weight of his obligations to our 
venerable Secretary; mine have not been less 
than theirs ; his knowledge and experience have 
cast a clear and steady light over the darkness 
that has environed my path. May he long sur- 
vive to enlighten us by his counsels and cheer us 
with his presence. 

It now only remains for me to introduce to 
you my distinguished successor, Gen. M. R. 
Patrick, who, to a thorough knowledge of the 
usages and policy of the society, adds the most 
patriotic services in the field, and is abundantly 
qualified to discharge duties that devolve upon 
him in a manner which will be honorable to him- 
self and conducive to the best interests of the 
society. 



GENERAL PATRICK'S REMARKS. 



Gen. Patrick commenced by alluding to the 
long line of illustrious names that had occu- 
pied the presidency, and his unworthiness to fill 
this position. He deeply appreciated the high 
honor which had been conferred upon him, and 
pledged himself to work faithfully in promoting 
the welfare and best interests of the society. 
He said that the prosperity of the society 
depended upon its working members ; he should 
co-operate with them in carrying out the great 
and worthy objects which had been inaugurated. 
He paid a high compliment to the retiring Pres- 
ident for his indefatigable labors in behalf of 
the Society during the past year, and gave a just 
and eloquent tribute to the venerable Secretary, 
Col. Johnson, who had watched for so many years 
over the interests of the society, and tlirough 
whose guidance and counsel the society had been 
made worthy of the Empire State. He trusted 
that many years would be spared him yet in the 
labors of the society. Gen. Patrick's address 
was earnest and eloquent, and, though brief, was 

exceedingly appropriate to the occasion. 
6 



A.FI^ENDIX: 



The following letter, written, at my request, 
by Mr. Geddes, conveys so much valuable infor- 
mation, is so good an example of the true mode 
of obtaining similar information, that I have 
sought and obtained his permission to publish it : 

Fairmount, Onondaga Co., N. Y., ) 
January 1th, 1867. ) 
Hon. John Stanton Gould : 

My Dear Sir — Your letter, requesting me to give you some 
account of crops raised here, has been received. 

In order to enable me to reply to your inquiries in a satis- 
factory manner, I called eight of our farmers the other evening 
to my house, and we had a full consultation ; the general 
results of which I will give you. Premising that these eight 
men own and cultivate farms that join each other, and that 
extend along the road from a mile west of my house to a mile 
and a half east of it. Six of the number were able to state 
the results of their farming, with satisfactory certainty, for the 
past three (3) years; and three of them could state, with abso- 
lute accuracy, their crops for that time. Beyond the three 
years it was thought not safe to go, as too much would have to 
be trusted to memory to make it safe for me to depend upon ; 
but could the facts have been accurately determined for five or 
six years, the results would have been at least as favorable as 
those given. 

Wheat, our leading crop, was found to have averaged, for the 
three years, a little more than twenty-six bushels to the acre. 
During the three years it appeared that only nine (9) acres of 
wheat had been raised by the persons present on summer fal- 
low, and thirty-six (36) on sod land once plowed ; all the re- 



44 

maincler had been raised on barley and oat stubble. The three 
gentlemen that could speak from the book, gave, for the aver- 
age of their crops, 25.45 bushels to the acre. I asked all 
present, how many more bushels should be expected i'rom a 
summer fallow than from stubble land ( I mean land that had 
barley or oats taken oif it the same year the wheat was sown) ; 
the average opinion was, the summer faUow should give from 
8 to 10 more bushels to the acre, though some of the party 
said no more ; but 8 to 10 bushels is about the difference. 

Barley — The average was 38.12 bushels per acre. 

Oats — The average was agreed to be about 50 bushels. 

Corn — In consequence of the injury done this crop by grubs 
aad other insects, for some years past, we have been driven to 
plant our corn on land not in the best condition to produce a 
large crop. A two or three year old clover sod would give the 
food for a large crop of corn; but three times in four such a 
sod would have so many grubs in it that half or more of the 
crop would be destroyed or very much injured by them. So 
we must put wheat or barley or oats on the sod land for one 
crop, and then corn. Or, we must plow for corn a clover sod 
of one year's standing. This is a good plan in one respect. 
Less labor is necessary to cultivate the corn than where a crop 
has been taken off the sod previous to the corn. But this plow- 
ing up of a clover sod only one year old is bad, as the roots 
have not, in so short a time, done as much in filling the soil as 
they should, before being killed by the plow. One of our num- 
ber has a field containing 33 acres, that was heavily seeded with 
timothy and clover, and has now been mowed for four years. 
Next season, but for grubs, he would put his corn in this land ; 
but as things are, it will go into barley and oats, to be followed 
by wheat the same year. 

These remarks will show you why our council of farmers put 
the average of corn at from 40 to 45 bushels, saying, at the 
same time, that before the grubs troubled us, the average was 
fully fifty bushels to the acre. 

Potatoes we only raise for home consumption, perhaps a few 
to sell, as the crop has suffered so much from rot in the past, 
that we cannot calculate on saving more than a hundred bushels 
to the acre. 



45 

Hay — We insist that our hay crops will weigh fully two 
tons per acre, weighed in the winter ; but as we feed out nearly 
all we raise, we do not know but guess about this crop. But 
we do get fully three (3) large loads from every acre we cut. 

Pasture — You did not ask about this ; but we farmers talked 
the matter over, spending a long time on the subject and making 
many figures. We took the land that each one gave to pasture^ 
and reduced all the stock to the equivalent of cows. The re- 
sult was that about three (3) acres were set apart for the use of 
four (4) cows as pasture land. To support so many animals 
we must have newly seeded land. Old pastures would come 
far short of this calculation in the quantity of feed they would 
produce. We do not turn on our pastures in the spring until 
they are well started, and soon after our wheat is cut we have 
the benefit of the feed tliat grows on the stubble. This feed is 
considerable ; for timotliy, at tlie rate of eight (8) quarts to 
the acre, being sown with the wheat, and eight (8) quarts of 
clover seed in the following spring, with a dressing of plaster 
of Paris, in an ordinary season, will give much good feed in the 
fall that had better be moderately pastured than allowed to fall 
down and, in many cases, kill the plant during the winter by 
smothering it. 

Clover Seed — Having taken off a crop of hay as near the 
first day of July as may be, and then sowing two busliels of 
plaster to the acre, we get a crop of clover seed, that the coun- 
cil agreed averaged three (3) bushels to the acre. If the season 
should be poor for pasture, we should turn our cattle on this 
second growth of the meadows, and thus have no crop of clover 
seed. So you see our clover seed crop is somewhat uncertain 
of being cut, for it sometimes is necessary to take it for pasture. 

I believe I have said more tlian you asked for, but I am 
inclined to go on yet a little. Fertility of the soil, is it less or 
more than it was twenty years ago? We talked this matter 
over fully, and each man gave his views. All agreed that our 
farms produced much more now than they did twenty years 
ago. No one put the increase at less than fifteen per cent. ; 
two at twenty-five, three at twenty, and the average was a frac- 
tion less than twenty per cent. The discussion then ran par- 
ticularly on the wheat crop, and all agreed that twenty years 



46 

ago when we summer fallowed, plowing three times and har- 
rowed as many, that we were then satisfied with twenty (20) 
bushels to the acre. Now, on stubble land, we have, for a period 
of some years, averaged from 25 to 26 bushels to the acre. 
This is an increase in bushels of more than twenty-five per cent, 
without taking into the account that, by summer fallowing now, 
we could add to this considerably. But summer fallowing is 
too costly a process unless weeds are so abundant that it has 
become necessary to exterminate them. Just the same amount 
of cultivation that is required for a summer fallow will give us 
a crop of barley and a crop of wheat. The addition to the 
cost is the seed barley and harvesting that crop. So summer 
fallowing is rarely resorted to here. 

I think the grass and hay crop has increased more than the 
wheat. The corn, for reasons before given, has diminished. 
. To sum up the matter, we agreed that the increase was not less 
than twenty per cent., probably more. 

The question was then asked : To what is this improvement 
due ? The answer was : Clover, plaster, sheep and thorough 
cultivation. Here ended the conference. 

I regret that I did not ask these men what proportion of 
their farms ever had barn yard manure put on them. I did 
not think of this ; but I have no hesitation in saying that they 
would have answered, less than one-half, perhaps less than one- 
third. Barn yard manure, in great quantities, is made by each 
of these men, but it is not drawn far from the barns, unless to 
be put on some hill top or side, or some other place that is not 
as productive as the remainder of the field. Tiie lands that do 
get the barn yard manure, are more severely cropped than those 
that do not get it. The back fields are pastured most. Clover 
plastered, is the great fertilizer. A few weeks since one of 
the participators in our council brought me a handful of clover 
roots that he had taken from some sod land he was then plow- 
ing. Some of these roots were three (3) feet long. They had 
been pulled up by the plow, and so left that they could be 
readily gathered by hand. Of course, but a small proportion 
of the roots are pulled up from the depth of three feet ; most of 
them are cut ofi" by the plow ; but you will probably be sur- 
prised, as I was, that any should be pulled from such a depth. 



47 

I meant to have put these roots in the agricultural rooms in 
Albany, but carelessly I allowed them to become so dry they 
broke up when I tried to put them in a bundle. Most of the 
land hereabouts has been plowed as deep as 8 or 9 inches at 
some times ; and it is hardly necessary for me to say, cultiva- 
tion is as perfect here as in any district I am acquainted with. 

I have written for your information, not to appear before the 
public, still with the utmost confidence that only the truth has 
been stated, and as nearly as it can be arrived at by the method 
adopted ; and though the results are perhaps nothing extraor- 
dinary, yet they have been quite satisfactory to our farmers, 
and are such, that I am quite sure they are above any average 
that can be reached in the State generally, by our system of 
farming, or by any other, without the use of manures that would 
cost too much. Our soil is a good one, and it has made good 
farmers ; and these farmers have, in turn, improved the soil. 

The land about Auburn where, last summer, you sweltered 
in the grain and hay fields trying reapers and mowers, is as 
good as ours, and the crops you saw there were as good as ours. 
But you must not forget that but a small part of the State can 
compare with the true grain soils of the salt group of rocks, 
and with the belt along the southerly line of this group that 
has been covered with the drift made up of ground and disin- 
tegrated salt rock. The farm southwest of Auburn, where I 
saw you trying the mowers, had on it the upper measures of 
the lime rocks, and near the barn where we lunched, the black 
rocks of the Marcellus shales appeared. This farm and the 
land about it is covered with drift from the salt group that 
outcrops some miles to the north. I call your attention to 
these geological considerations, that you may the better under- 
stand what I have said. 

Respectfully yours, 

GEORGE GEDDES. 



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